2016 Clos des Lambrays, Grand Cru, Domaine des Lambrays, Burgundy
Critics reviews
William Kelley - 28/12/2018
About this WINE
Domaine des Lambrays
Domaine des Lambrays was established in 1363 yet it was only in 1981 that this climat was finally promoted to Grand Cru. The estate was purchased in 1996 by the Freune family and since then dramatic changes have taken place, leading to an upsurge in quality. At 8.8 hectares, this is the largest Grand Cru parcel in Burgundy under one proprietor.
As well as the grand cru itself, the Domaine also owns vines in premier cru and village vineyards in Morey, and since 1993, two premier cru vineyards in Puligny Montrachet, les Folatières and Clos du Cailleret, purchased from Domaine Chartron.
Winemaker Jacques Devauges has been in charge since 1979. The vineyards are run on more or less organic lines, with no chemical anti-rot sprays, and ploughing of the soil by horse. In the cellar, he likes to use the majority of the stems, favours punching down over pumping over, and prefers to restrain the amount of new oak – around 50% for the grand cru. The produce of young vines is downgraded to Morey St Denis 1er cru where it joins the fruit of tiny holdings of La Riotte and Le Village. The village Morey comes from La Riotte, Clos Solon, Les Larreys and especially La Bidaude which lies just above the Clos des Lambrays.
Domaine des Lambrays produces wines which possess balance, power and finesse and which fully live up to their Grand Cru status.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.
Morey-Saint-Denis
Morey is sometimes ignored between its two famous neighbours, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin, but its wines are of equal class, combining elegance and structure. Morey-St Denis, being that little bit less famous, can often provide excellent value.
The four main Grand Cru vineyards continue in a line from those of Gevrey-Chambertin, with Clos St Denis and Clos de la Roche the most widely available. Clos des Lambrays (almost) and Clos de Tart (entirely) are monopolies of the domains which bear the same names.
Domaine Dujac and Domaine Ponsot also make rare white wines in Morey-St Denis.
- 64 hectares of village Morey-St Denis
- 33 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (20 in all). Best vineyards include Les Charmes, Les Millandes, Clos de la Bussière, Les Monts Luisants
- 40 hectares of Grand Cru vineyard. Clos de Tart, Clos des Lambrays, Clos de la Roche, Clos St Denis and a tiny part of Bonnes Mares
- Recommended Producers: Dujac, Ponsot, Clos de Tart, Domaine des Lambrays
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
This has a little less whole-bunch this year (85 percent) and 50 percent new oak, as usual. This really goes through the gears. To begin with, the colour is profound. The bouquet has a brilliant interplay between spice and dark fruit – cinnamon one moment, damson the next. Finally the whole performance is sewn together by a carefully worked infrastructure of silky tannin and tightly woven acidity. This is a very special example of both the style of the domaine and Morey-St Denis itself.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer
The Clos des Lambrays was established in 1363 yet it was only in 1981 that this climat was finally promoted to Grand Cru status, as it deserves. The estate was purchased in 1996 by the Freund family who sold on in turn to LVMH in 2014. Winemaker Thierry Brouin has been in charge since 1979. The vineyards are run on more or less organic lines, with no chemical anti-rot sprays and ploughing of the soil by horse. In the cellar, he likes to use the majority of the stems, favours punching down over pumping over and prefers to restrict the amount of new oak – around 50 percent for the Grand Cru. This is Thierry Brouin’s last vintage before his successor Boris Champy takes over. Morey was spared the frosts, so there is an air of unbridled optimism here. A cold spring left only a touch of frost on the vineyards under the trees, but otherwise the vines were untouched. Similarly, the mildew – which was exceptionally problematic for some growers, especially if they were organic – was controlled effectively. August was even warmer than in 2015 and timely September rain made this a fine year at the domaine.
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